Election 2012: To the victor go the spoils

Sunday

Nov 11, 2012 at 4:00 AM

Mike TowerJust My Opinion

Dear President Barack Obama:Congratulations to you and your supporters for your victory Tuesday.I did not vote for you because I do not agree with many of your past actions. I speak primarily of my disappointment in your inability or unwillingness to reach across the table to attempt to develop bipartisan solutions for our nation's many problems. I clearly remember you responding to Eric Cantor's attempt to have the GOP participate in the development of what came to be known as Obamacare. You said: "Eric, you lost, we won ... get over it." This was the defining moment in which you drew a line in the sand that essentially said no Republican ideas would be accepted.Of course, the Republicans didn't help in any way to encourage uniting our nation's leadership, either. The GOP leaders in both houses, as well as the tea party, made it quite clear their only ongoing purpose was to make certain you were a one-term president. The tea party and its no-compromise, no-new-taxes battle cry served only to exacerbate the resulting gridlock.So we stand as a nation much deeper in distress today than we were four years ago. Nearly $6 trillion has been added to our future generation's debt, and we continue to borrow nearly 40 percent of all we spend.Under your leadership, our nation has created millions of new private-sector jobs. Unfortunately, this new job creation has barely kept up with population growth. We still have between 23-25 million Americans either unemployed or underemployed. Meanwhile, in our weakened economy, and understandably, the numbers of Americans receiving Social Security disability benefits and food stamps has reached staggering new levels.My main reason for writing this is to point out to you and your followers, to Republicans and their followers, and even the wingnut extremists in both parties, none of you has been given an overwhelming mandate by your fellow citizens to run the nation your way.President Obama, you received slightly more than 50 percent of the overall votes, and your opponent, Mitt Romney, received slightly less. However, when you remember only about half of eligible voters bothered to vote, each candidate received around one-quarter of the support of all eligible voters. Think about this: Nearly 75 percent of eligible voters either voted against each candidate or didn't bother to express an opinion with a ballot.This is a long way from being handed a mandate in which you, President Obama, once again will be tempted to say to the opposition in D.C.: We won, you lost, get over it.The Republican lawmakers and party leadership must understand that they also did not receive a mandate. Certainly those in the tea party who have tried so hard to take control of the Republican Party must learn that they have even less of a mandate from their fellow citizens.Mr. President, it is the wish of the vast majority of Americans that you actually stand up and provide critically needed leadership to foster a true spirit of bipartisanship in Washington during your last four years in office. Please remember that even though you have no majority mandate, you have been entrusted with the responsibility to lead by encouraging both sides to join together to take the actions that are so desperately needed by all Americans. The vast majority of Americans are very worried about their families' futures. They are worried about the staggering debt and continuing borrowing, our lack of jobs, stagnant wages, increasing prices for everyday staples, and most of all about the frozen dialogue among our elected leaders, which provides no helpful solutions.You have been elected by a small minority of citizens as the leader of America for all Americans. It is my prayer and plea that you will stand tall now and do your job. I believe most Americans will honor you and the office you hold, however, you will have to earn our respect, and your place in history, by your actions and results — not just your inspiring rhetoric.You and your party cannot adequately repair the many problems we face unless you find a way to engage and unite both parties in a shared quest to patch up the good ship America we all sail on together.Good luck, and may God bless you, Mr. President, and all of the citizens of the United States of America.These are my opinions. What do you think?Mike Tower lives in Hendersonville. Reach him at mike41tower @gmail.com or visit capau.org.